AERA Writing & Literacies SIG

Tove Skutnabb-Kangas wrote in 1989: "Especially in relation to small children, it is close to criminal, real psychological torture, to use monolingual teachers who do not understand what the child has to say in her mother tongue" (p. 55). #literacies

17 in my country. And more charters than you can throw a stick at. It’s so hard! There’s no continuity. And I don’t know that a single district, which is floated every decade or so, is a good answer. Some districts are great at language support, community, admin, others aren’t. #literacies

I wish I could have more input on which classrooms my sts were in so that they were seeing this kind of student-centered resistance. I fear too often they see compliance, even when the teachers build strong rapport. There are many hard things in Texas now, this among them #literacies

There was a Polish school in the neighborhood where I taught. Sts graduated with a certificate in Polish language, culture, and history. It was amazing, and unsurprising, to see how the skills they learned there complimented their text analysis skills in, say, AP Lit. #literacies

Thank you to the W & L SIG Graduate Student Board, and the Bluesky team in particular, for continuing to build community in our SIG! #literacies

Answering this question in Texas is pretty awful. With such a rich linguistic history, and San Antonio being a locus of refugee resettlement in years past, this place is amazing. And most local districts closed their newcomer campuses this year. Teachers are scared. Silence reigns. #literacies

Youth are constantly teaching us about the nuances in language! They truly are our linguistic experts #literacies

Thank you for joining tonight! We hope to see you for our October #literacies chat!

I taught in a Catholic all-girls school in Chicago and had so many diaspora students with lots of different Spanishes. I credit my sts for helping me learn about those differences and understand the nuances. My only previous learning was my aunt’s Catalonian-inspired Cuban Spanish. #literacies

A6: I am really looking forward to learning from what everyone shares. For me, I try to think about what I can do to dedicate energy to long-term, systemic changes as well as smaller scale, short-term changes. (1/2) #literacies

A6: This looks like policy advocacy and review as well as reaching out to and sharing multilingual teaching resources and volunteering with the local educators in the surrounding districts. I am always trying to look for opportunities to do both. (2/2) #literacies

A6: One way I've been thinking about addressing these issues is through partnerships with Indigenous teachers in Mexico. I wonder how we can re-think Latinx multilingual education in the U.S. by working alongside Indigenous educators to transform education for our students? #literacies

My mother got rid of her southern accent within months of going north for college. It didn’t impact me, really, but it is so real and sad, and angering, that almost 60 years later the stigma is still there. I’ll stand y’all to the end of time, though. #literacies

A5 1/2: I have seen teachers (even language specialists!) with very flattened perceptions of families' languages. I think it’s so important to learn about families’ languages because each family can have varied repertoires made up of colonial, regional, and ethnic-specific languages. #literacies

A4 1/2: In my time as an ESOL teacher, I worked with students who Indigenous and minoritized languages from Mexico, Guatemala, Nepal, Ethiopia, the DRC, and Afghanistan. In particular, one student corrected my assumption they only spoke Spanish. #literacies

A3 3/3: I’m incredibly concerned by the way we limit the brilliance of multilingual children in English-dominated education system because like Otheguy et al. (2015), this form of education only allows students to use half (or even less!) of their linguistic repertoire in learning. #literacies

A5: I’m really curious to read others’ ideas here, but I think we can start with us as teachers inquiring into our students’ and families’ language practices and inviting students to use and share their indigenous languages in the classroom. #Literacies

Q6: How can we work with educators and community members across borders to re-imagine multilingual education for multilingual students? #literacies

Q6 coming up in 1 min… #literacies

I wonder, what linguistic knowledge and literacies are we missing when we advocacy for English-Spanish bilingual education? In fighting for Spanish to be valued in the U.S. are we missing the opportunity to grapple with it's historical and contemporary colonial imprints? #literacies

A5: I wonder how an orientation toward the future might help through the discomfort named in the question. If we see our uncertainties as a starting point for disrupting language hierarchies, I think we can open speculative possibilities for a more expansive path forward. #literacies

A5: ...leverage Marshallese as much as possible; using and creating any resources I could get my hands on (or that students could create) to ensure Marshallese was represented just as much... The manuscript is in the works, so stay tuned (lol!) (2/2) #literacies

Some students come to the classroom knowing 2-3 languages and admit to not being able to speak some of their Indigenous languages anymore because they are not a part of their daily learning. #literacies

Thank you so much for sharing. As we are looking at (finally) building dual language programs in Arkansas, I will ensure to voice this reality as often as I can. #literacies

Yes! So many children's educational trajectories are marked by home language surveys. #literacies

A4: One example I see is not acknowledging their existence altogether or speaking of indigenous languages as something of the past. #literacies

A5: In my work in education, I have seen how Latinx educators, activists, and allies have worked tirelessly to advocate for bilingual education so that Latinx children can get the support they need in their home and community language as well as maintain their bilingualism. #literacies

However, in my work with multilingual Latinx youth who come from Indigenous homes and communities, I have learned that despite having amazing Latinx teachers who value bilingualism, these young people's multilingualism is often overlooked or simplified into the Spanish-English dichotomy. #literacies

Q5: Because Indigenous languages are overlooked, we often miss the opportunity to have uncomfortable conversations about Spanish as a colonial language. How might we lean into this discomfort to disrupt linguistic hierarchies reproduced in classrooms, communities, and beyond? #literacies

Q5 coming up in 1 min... #literacies

Late to the party, but what a great start. Monolingual English, and yet after 20 yrs in TX, 10+ in San Antonio, the texture has changed. Spanish is now part of my soundscape, on campus, in the grocery store. I’ve learned to hear its cadence & music. Also, I’m on Bsky, which totally impacts things.

A3: teachers are in situations where they must get creative to support and communicate with their students and their families. This is a part of good teaching practice, and also, it doesn’t feel sustainable to rely only on individuals only when systems need changing #literacies

I remember when I first traveled to a place where neither of my languages were the dominant languages spoken. It's such a great opportunity for reflection. #literacies

A4: As a scholar, educator, and parent I have advocated for bilingual education to support the educational trajectories of Latinx students. As a mother raising a bilingual child, I have committed to raising my child using the language of my home and community, Spanish. #literacies

For me, Spanish is a language of love and endearment. A language that connects me to my grandparents and to their place of origin. However, in my recent work with Mayan teachers in Yucatán, I have come to see Spanish through a more nuanced lens. #literacies

A3: The messaging both flattens and narrows. "Tools" like GenAI flatten how people think about language (e.g., that horrendous ChatGPT commercial with the two older women), and English-only policies narrow both the allowances of linguistic difference and who is allowed to use language. #literacies

I think borders can also be seen not as division but as "proximity" and ways communities have ALWAYS migrated and shared ideas. Take a samosa/sambusa? Who does it belong to? Ethiopians? Indians? Pakistanis? Somalis? It's the wrong question, in fact. It's about seeing how we are similar. #literacies

Q4: Scholars have highlighted how linguistic hierarchies continue to marginalize Indigenous languages globally. What examples have folks seen or experienced in the communities they work with or come from? #Literacies

Q4 coming up in 1 min... #literacies

My bilingual parenting requires me to grapple with these issues and ensure that my child, as a racialized emergent bilingual, understands that bilingualism is a matter of the heart but also a resistant practice in the face of English superiority in the U.S. #literacies

In my personal life, I have had to sit with what these discourses mean for me as a mother raising a bilingual child "Spanish-first." #literacies

In my work as a teacher-educator, the policy proposals and rhetoric have been moments for critical analysis and a call to action for our preservice teachers to think about their role as educators in this landscape. #literacies

A3: The English-only movement has been longstanding and we continue to see how English becomes code for "American" or "citizen". #literacies

A2 1/4: I was born to a monolingual white family, so my English dominant languaging practices reflect that. I began learning Japanese at 12/13, and used it in college at my church, Japanese friends, and in Japan itself. My Japanese is pretty dormant now though. 😭 #literacies

A2: Love this! It reminds me how the communities, places, and spaces are such a major part of my own personhood & the identities I hold. Off the top of my head: mid-Southern, education, female friendships, learner, Whiteness (always something to critically reflect on), and so many more. #literacies

I love how you've talked about how geographies are important in shaping your linguistic practices. #literacies Our languaging practices reflect the cumulative impact of our communities upon our lives. We carry them with us.

I grew up in a monolingual household in the Midwest, and was not in many spaces where my languging practices were not in the majority. When I lived and taught overseas for four years, it was the first time that I began to understand my ways of speaking as so particular my context. #literacies

Q3: We continue to see English-only policy proposals and rhetoric impacting our classrooms, especially under our current administration. How are folks feeling the impacts of these policies and messaging in their teaching, research, or personal life? #literacies

Q3 coming up in 1 min... #literacies